xREL.v3

RELEASE         : King.Crimson.Larks.Tongues.In.Aspic.The.Complete.Recording.Sessions.1973.COMPLETE.MBLURAY-MIDDLE

DATE            : 2024/04/15

AUDIO           : English / Dolby TrueHD Audio / 7.1 / 48 kHz / 5074 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 96 kHz / 6205 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 6.1 / 48 kHz / 1509
kbps / 24-bit)
English / LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit

VIDEO           : [1920  |  1080]
SUBS            : [n/a]

GENRE           : Rock
IMDB            : n/a
RATING          : n/a

COMMENT         : A 50th anniversary 2CD/2Blu-Ray edition of King Crimson s remarkable 1973 album.

2023 mixes in Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Sound and Hi-Res Stereo by Steven Wilson

2023 Elemental Mixes by David Singleton - The complete recordings of every session recorded for
the album. All of this material has been newly mixed from the original performances and is presented
on disc for the first time in Hi-Res 24/96 stereo.

Hi-Res stereo mixes of the original stereo masters & David Singleton s audio documentary of the album
recording  Keep That One, Nick  as previously included on the 2012 boxed set. These are the sole inclusions
on the disc to have been issued previously.

When, in July 1972, Melody Maker revealed that Bill Bruford & John Wetton were joining King Crimson
from Yes & Family respectively, it was front page news. Also joining were Jamie Muir   a key figure
in London s jazz scene & David Cross   from the band Waves. Fripp s claims about the band s  magic  were
to be put to the test that autumn when, following a three night stint at the Zoom Club, Frankfurt &  TV
appearance on Bremen s Beat Club, the band undertook an extensive UK tour, which ran from the end of October
through to mid-December. With the exception of the encore  21st Century Schizoid Man , the material was all new,
with a heavier emphasis on improvisation than had ever been utilised by any major UK rock group on a headlining
tour. The developing material for Larks  Tongues in Aspic was premiered to a succession of audiences who, for
the most part, had bought tickets expecting to hear something else entirely (encore notwithstanding) but who
responded to the challenging set with enthusiasm.

Recorded from mid-January to the beginning of February & released in late March of 1973, Larks  Tongues in Aspic
became one of the most acclaimed of King Crimson s albums as well as establishing its reputation as
a key album
from one of rock music s most significant years. After a handful of further UK concerts, Jamie Muir
left the band
with the remaining quartet working with ever greater success until Summer 1974 when Fripp placed the band on indefinite hiatus.

Almost half a century after its release, Steven Wilson undertook the job of mixing the album for Dolby Atmos and,
in the process, prepared new stereo & 5.1 mixes. The new stereo & 5.1 mixes   no doubt informed by
the more adventurous
mix techniques allowed by the Atmos process   are quite different in approach, more expansive than the earlier mixes
as released in 2012, while still retaining and enhancing the core power of the original material.

The Atmos mixes allow a fresh glimpse of the vast scope of the individual material & performances as recorded for the
album. The key to understanding this album, which Atmos illustrates most obviously, but is also
present in all of Steven s
new mixes, David s Elemental mixes & Alex & David s mixes of the sessions material, is that this
music was always this big,
complex, interwoven series of soundscapes & while it was, in 1973, released in stereo on vinyl, CD & 8Track cartridge,
it s only in recent years with, first the 2012 stereo & Surround mixes & now the Atmos/Elemental/Complete Sessions mixes
that the available mix options & domestic consumption audio options have grown sufficiently to both contain & present the
material to its fullest possible extent.

While Steven was working on this aspect of the material Alex R. Mundy and David Singleton at DGM
were mixing every single
take of the original studio sessions. These unreleased early takes are presented not as traditionally blended pieces, but
with maximum separation, mimicking the experience of sitting in the studio with the individual elements being performed
around you. The  Elemental mixes  apply this same approach to the main album takes. An excitingly
fresh view on the familiar,
with the focus often falling in unusual places, some originally hidden, some unused. Four of the
album s core tracks feature:
extended mixes of Larks  1 and Talking Drum along with Easy Money & Larks  2.

This material is all presented on Blu-Ray I of the set.

Blu-Ray II presents every single session recording from the original studio dates, all newly mixed from the multitrack
tapes and presented in date of recording order, in Hi-Res 24/96 stereo   a vast collection of previously unheard studio
material from the seminal recording.

Also included on this disc are the original album mix (30th anniversary master) & the audio
documentary  Keep that one, Nick
as compiled by David Singleton for the 2012 boxed set. These two inclusions are the only previously
released titles on this set.

It s no coincidence that many of the pieces from the album became staples of performance for the
most recent King
Crimson line-ups (2014   2021). The material first performed to unsuspecting concert attendees in 1972, first recorded &
released in 1973 & beloved of King Crimson fans ever since, has aged remarkably well. That material
is now presented in its
most complete edition to date, with all of the material on the CDs & almost all of the material on
the Blu-Rays (see
track-listing below), previously unreleased.

In 2024, it still has the capacity to astound the ears.

Larks' Tongues in Aspic - 2023 mixes.  Dolby Atmos, DTS HD-MA 5.1 Surround, LPCM 24.96 Stereo

01. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One
02. Book of Saturday
03. Exiles
04. Easy Money
05. The Talking Drum
06. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two

Elemental Mixes (24/96 Stereo)

01. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One
02. Easy Money
03. The Talking Drum
04. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two

Instrumental Mixes (24/96 Stereo)

01. Book of Saturday
02. Exiles
03. Easy Money

30th Anniversary Master

01. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One
02. Book of Saturday
03. Exiles
04. Easy Money
05. The Talking Drum
06. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two

The Session Reels

01. "Keep That One, Nick"

Complete Recording Sessions (24/96 Stereo)

January 16th, 1973

01. Larks  I - Takes 1 to 10
02. Larks  I - Takes 12 to 18 & 20 to 22
03. Larks  II - Take 1
04. Book Of Saturday - Take 1
05. Book Of Saturday - Take 1 Overdubs & 2nd Main Vocal Take

January 17th, 1973

01. Larks  I - Edit 2 Takes 1 to 11
02. Larks  I - Edit 2 Take 12 & Overdubs
03. Larks  I - 4/4 Section Remake Takes 1 to 4
04. Larks  I - 4/4 Section Remake Takes 5 to 9 & 11 to 17
05. Larks  I - 2nd Edit Takes 1 to 6
06. Larks  I - 2nd Edit Take 1 with Overdubs

January 18th, 1973

01. Larks  I - Bill Drum Check
02. Larks  I - Jamie Drum Check
03. Larks  II - Takes 1 & 2

January 19th, 1973

01. Larks  I - 7/8 Section Remake Takes 1 to 5
02. Larks  I - 4/4 Section Remake Takes 1 to 9

January 20th, 1973

01. Larks  I - 4/4 Section 2nd Remake Takes 10 to 20

January 21st, 1973

01. Larks  I - 4/4 Section 2nd Remake Takes 21 to 26

January 23rd, 1973

01. Easy Money - Takes 1 to 9
02. Easy Money - Takes 10 & 11
03. Jamie Various Atmosphere Takes
04. Jamie More Atmosphere Takes

January 24th, 1973

01. Easy Money - Remake Takes 1 to 6
02. Easy Money - Remake Takes 7 to 9
03. Intermezzo Takes 1 to 6
04. Intermezzo Takes 7 to 16
05. Intermezzo Takes 19 to 25

January 25th, 1973

01. The Talking Drum - Takes 1 to 3
02. The Talking Drum - Take 3 (Complete)
03. Larks  I - 2nd Edit Takes 1 to 5
04. Larks  I - Final Edit Remake Non Takes

January 26th, 1973

01. Exiles - Takes 1 to 3
02. Exiles - Takes 5 & 6
03. Exiles - Master Reel Take 4 Backing
04. Exiles - Master Reel Take 4 Overdubs 1
05. Exiles - Master Reel Take 4 Overdubs 2
06. Exiles - Master Reel Take 4 Vocal Overdubs

January 30th, 1973

01. The Talking Drum - Remake Takes 1 to 6
02. Larks  I - Master Bass Drums Percussion 4/4 section
03. Larks  I - Master Bass Drums Percussion 7/8 section
04. Larks  I - Master Guitar 4/4 Section Pass 1
05. Larks  I - Master Guitar 4/4 Section Pass 2
06. Larks  I - Master Guitar 4/4 Section Pass 3
07. Larks  I - Master Guitar and Violin 7/8 Section
08. Larks  I - Master Intermezzo Part 1
09. Larks  I - Master Intermezzo Part 1 Overdubs
10. Larks  I - Master Intermezzo Part 2
11. Larks  I - Master Introduction David & Jamie
12. Larks  I - Master Introduction Overdubs
13. Larks  I - Master Last Section Newspaper Readings
14. Larks  I - Master Lead Guitar Overdubs
15. Larks  I - Master Opening Bass, Drums, Guitar, Percussion
16. Larks  I - Master Opening Violin and Guitar
17. Larks  I - Master Last Section Violin And Guitar

January 31st, 1973

01. Easy Money - Master Ambient Overdubs to the End
02. Easy Money - Master Backing Track to the End
03. Easy Money - Master Intro Backing Track
04. Easy Money - Master Intro Jamie Overdubs
05. Easy Money - Master Intro Vocal Overdubs
06. Easy Money - Master Vocal Overdubs to the End
07. The Talking Drum - Master Reel Backing Track
08. The Talking Drum - Master Reel Overdubs
09. Larks  II - Master Reel Backing Track
10. Larks  II - Master Reel Overdubs
11. Larks  II - Master Reel Violin Solos

February 1st, 1973

01. Book Of Saturday - Takes 1 to 3 & 5 to 10
02. Book Of Saturday - Master Reel Bass Pass 1, Guitar, Violin
03. Book Of Saturday - Master Reel Guide Vocals, Guitar, Violin Overdubs
04. Book Of Saturday - Master Reel Bass Pass 2, Vocals with Vocal Overdubs